After the Ball (Based on the movie)
by MiraculousBell3
Summary: Marinette is a young fashion designer who's trying to get through the fashion industry; but with her family name behind her, she isn't sure if anyone could trust her. When her stepmother and stepsisters try to push her out of the family business, she dons the disguise of a boy to expose their evil plan. Cinderella AU. Credits to the movie "After the Ball"
1. Chapter 1

"You're up in 5!" the stage manager told Marinette as she quickly checked up on all of her designs. The models turned around as they saw the young designer approach them; hoping that she'll calm down. After all, everyone knew how she was when her designs were on the runway. For her, everything had to be perfect.

After what seemed like the 500th check, the designer checked her phone, hoping to see if there were any new text messages. Unfortunately and fortunately for her, there were none. She wasn't sure if she was disappointed or thankful. _He'll come, he promised,_ Marinette told herself. Besides, she knew that he was a very busy man. He wouldn't have time to check his phone anyways.

 _Focus!_ Marinette gently slapped herself on the cheek. This was the last show of the year, and she had to make an impact on the fashion industry, or at least an impact for her last mark of the year. She doubled checked her design again; after all, triple checking everything never did any harm. She relaxed when she found no mistakes, as she reached for her bottled water on the floor and took a long gulp. After a pause, she looked around at her fellow designers and smiled. It was strange that at the center of all the chaos, she was able to find peace. Even if this show may or may not make or break her future, Marinette found that the atmosphere around her was very relaxing. _Wait, why was she so nervous again?_

"Ladies and gentlemen; Welcome to the Metro Academy of Fashion's Graduation Showcase!" the speaker announced as the audience cheered.

 _Oh yeah, that's why_. She looked down at her leading dress and realized that one of her stitches tore off. She quickly set to work and hurried along towards the front of the backstage.

"Woah!" she yelped as some models wearing spring designs came rushing from the runway. Marinette quickly examined the pieces. Several girls had hats that resembled bird nests. Others had floral designed kimonos. It seemed a bit ridiculous, but the ravenette had to admit that the designs were paired together quite nicely.

 _Get it together, Marinette!_ She couldn't get distracted now! She only had less than five minutes before her designs were displayed!

She sighed in relief as she opened the wooden drawer where all the pins, needles, and other extra supplies usually were. She reached down one of the bins only to find that there were none left. She shuffled around again and found nothing.

"3 minutes!" someone called out.

Marinette panicked as she opened all the drawers. Just a bunch of buttons; great! After a few seconds gone by, still finding nothing, she went to the non-needed clothing racks. She was so sure that everything was all right earlier too! Just her luck! "Come on, come on!" she quietly whimpered as she nearly cried in delight when she found a pin attached to a red and black plaid skirt. After plucking it off, she began racing back to her design area.

"Last minute call for Aurore Beauréal!"

Marinette nearly tripped when she saw her leading model, only ten feet away. The model looked up at her, as she held the pin up. _I got the pin!_ Marinette mouthed to her.

"20 seconds, Ms. Beauréal"

 _Almost there!_ Marinette thought until she felt a tug on her sleeve. She turned to see Aurore, who was in a clear state of panic!

"Oh thank goodness Marinette! I really need your help!" the blonde pouted. Her model, who wore a lot of blue and makeup glared annoyingly at her.

The blonde continued on, "It's a total disaster! She completely mangled the elastic-"

"Not my fault! You make it so flimsy!" the model interrupted back in a huff.

Aurore glared and looked back at Marinette. "Flimsy! It wasn't flimsy! You tore it with your stiletto. Who puts their shoes on first?!"

"Russians," the modeled rolled out her _r's_.

Marinette sighed, but didn't let anyone hear it. After all, Aurore has been with her for the past few years at the design school. And even though the ravenette was a perfectionist on the runway, her friends always came first. Besides, she was on in 10 seconds and Marinette had a minute…at most.

She took a deep breath, in and out. "Aurore, breathe. I'm going to pin it," Marinette decided. _There goes your last pin for your own model,_ a part of her brain silently warned her, but she pushed that thought aside. She grabbed the fabric and slowly bunched it together, making it as good as new…almost.

"You're a lifesaver!" Aurore hugged her.

Marinette didn't linger a moment longer, having to get back to her own station. "Not your fault!" she replied as Aurore's blond hair got lost in the sea of people.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you're on in 1 minute," the announcer stated.

She quickly got in her designated area and waited patiently until it was her turn. "Where are the pins, you had them a minute ago," one of the models, the one with the torn dress, complained to her.

Oh right, Marinette almost forgot about that.

"Well, I don't have one. You're just going to have to hold it up," she calmly stated. She frowned when she realized that this was Clara Contard. She was one of her only models that seemed to give her an attitude. But somehow, Clara has always managed to pick up a fight with one of the other models.

She groaned. "I'm not going to remember that!"

Marinette huffed. She may tolerate this behavior any other day, but today was _definitely not_ like any other day! "Are you serious? It's literally in 30 seconds," she deadpanned.

"You're on!" the speaker told Marinette.

Sighing the model went out and the others followed. At the last second she said, "I won't be able to remember!"

The raven-haired designer huffed as she paced her station. All she had to do now was hope for the best.

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The audience cheered as Marinette's piece was finally done. It turns out; Clara managed to hold onto the edge of the fabric after all. The ravenette gave herself a mental pat on the back until a movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention.

It was the head designer of one of her favorite brands; Chamack. As a teen, she admired Nadja a lot, since she was such a creative and inspiring fashion idol. Marinette always had a thing for kids, and her child Manon supported Marinette's claim. They were just such a cute family; how could anyone not love them. So, of course, seizing the moment, Marinette just had to introduce herself.

"Excuse me?" she nervously tapped Nadja on the shoulder. The woman turned around and gave the girl a small smile. Unbeknownst to the ravenette, she was more amused at how such an amateur designer like her had enough confidence to actually have the courage to talk to a big fashion celebrity such as herself.

Marinette blushed, not believing what she just did, but continued confidently anyways. "Hi, um, I just want to introduce myself. I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I was the last designer in the showcase tonight, and I just want to say that I'm a big fan of Chamack. I admired your brand for a lot of my teen years."

Nadja nodded, but Marinette had more to say.

"I was wondering if maybe you had a position availabl-"

"Dupain?" Nadja interrupted.

Marinette gulped. This was the part that she was nervous about. Almost no one could get past _this_ part.

"As in Dupain clothing?"

The ravenette gulped. "Well actually that was my papa's business. But I actually want to work-"

"So, you're the daughter of the man whose business was built off of taking our designs and turning it into knockoffs? And you'd like a job?" Nadja huffed.

Marinette frowned, having a lot of things to say about this.

Maybe if people knew the whole story, they would be less harsh about things, but it was almost never that way. In fact, she and her father hardly spoken anymore these days. Not since she broke it off when she was first entering the Metro Academy of Fashion. Not since she lost her mom. Not since _that_ woman came into her life. Not after that very same woman married her papa and faked getting along with her, ever though she spent every minute a part of the family trying to get rid of and torment her.

But of course, no one ever knew. Not even her papa knew. He was too busy.

"Yeah," Marinette smiled, but it was more out of politeness now rather than eagerness to meet her old idol. "That's actually the reason why I went to fashion school…"

Nadja laughed a little, but she had a strained smile upon her face. "Dear, you're obviously very talented. But who in their right mind would hire you with your family name?" Nadja scrunched up her nose for a second before turning around. "Nice meeting you, Marinette."

With that last note, she turned away from the poor girl. The people who witnessed this event just moved on and forgot about what happened.

Meanwhile, Marinette was still staring at the space where Nadja just stood a few minutes ago.

She sighed and took out her phone. She smiled when the app notified her that there were two new texts.

The first one was from her aunt Tikki. And the second was from…her best friend Alya. As Marinette expected, her papa never showed up. Yes, they had that fight not long ago, but Marinette and Tom were trying to patch things up now. But she hasn't seen him in nearly two years…And even though they had conversations on the phone, even though it was for a brief amount of time, he still promised her that he'd show up.

When she was little, if her papa made a promise, he would always keep it. Of course, that was before Mama died, but things changed now. It wasn't too hard to believe that he wouldn't show up, but deep down, Marinette really hoped…

 _Ring!_ Her phone chimed.

She looked down at the screen to see that she got another message from her aunt (well, godmother. But she was so close to Mama that she could be an aunt to the ravenette. The two older women were like sisters towards each other).

Tikki: How did it go?

Marinette smiled, but opened up her chat with Alya first.

Alya: Hey girl! Congrats on the showcase tonight. Sorry I couldn't make it, journaling. ;) U could tell me how it went on Saturday. Coffee at Sugar&Cream. Love u, and text me back! Ciao bella!

Marinette smiled, since she knew that Alya could always make her happy. She replied back saying that she was up for coffee. She had a lot to tell since Alya knew she had always wanted to meet Nadja Chamack since…well forever! But not anymore, at least, not with how she treated her tonight.

The designer entered back into her text with her aunt.

Mari: Not so good

She was happy when she heard another notification sound. Tikki always knew when to be there for her.

Tikki: Come home to Miraculous. You can stay here with me!

Marinette smiled. Tikki owned a little boutique called _Miraculous._ When she was little, her mama used to take her there all the time to visit. Tikki would always greet her with cookies, and her husband Plagg would always have a glass of wine and a plate of cheese, for himself of course. Marinette used to always complain about how the camembert smelled, but in the end, the three adults would always laugh it off saying she would get use to it. Only on a couple of rare occasions would Papa actually tag along with them.

Mari: I love you!

Tikki: That's what dogmothers are for. To take cats of you!

Tikki: *Godmother. *Care. Dumb autocorrect phone!

Marinette smiled as she put her phone away. It looks like she was going to stay at _Miraculous_ tonight.

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The first chance she got, Marinette packed away all of her bags and called upon the nearest taxi to take her to the boutique. After all, it has been a long time since she last been there.

It was raining when she got to that part of town, but she didn't mind. Mama used to always love the rain.

She finally got to the front of the entrance as she set her luggage down. She looked at the sign that hung above the door.

" _Miraculous: Vintage and Charming clothing, Boutique"._

As she opened the door, a murky smell of cookies and camembert cheese filled her nose.

 _Yep_ , she smiled, _I'm definitely home again._


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette entered through the doors of _Miraculous,_ the boutique when she heard a crash behind her.

"Dang it," grumbled a voice next to her that was all too familiar. Marinette smiled as she embraced the mysterious figure in a tight warm hug! She heard a small yelp from their mouth, but in the end, the person slowly wrapped their arms around the girl's waist, returning the favor.

The designer grinned as they pulled away. "Thought you could scare me again, didn't you Plagg?"

She didn't even bother saying "uncle" before his name. It has always been like that, and it hasn't changed since. When Marinette was three, her Mama has introduced the couple as "Uncle Plagg" and "Auntie Tikki", but they dismissed the titles right away, saying that it made them feel old and aged up. As she grew older, Marinette often made the mistake of saying 'aunt' or 'uncle' from time to time, but she grew out of it by her fourth birthday. It was one of the unique things about her godparents.

"You're awfully thin," Plagg noted out of the blue. "You should have some camembert; it does wonders for you." Marinette laughed as Plagg led her into the back, where the store got divided into the living space.

She sat down as Plagg got out a piece of the smelly cheese out of the mini fridge.

"Wait here. Tikki should be down in a moment," Plagg instructed as he walked away, no doubt to grab a glass of wine to accompany the cheese. Those two things were Plagg's favorite combo after all.

"Marinette!" a high pitched voice exclaimed, as the designer whipped her head around to see her godmother walking towards her and giving her a comforting hug. "It's been a while," the red-head mumbled into Marinette's jet-black hair.

They sat comfortably next to each other for a while after the hug has ended. The ravenette glanced at the clock only to find that it was past 10 PM.

"Shouldn't you be asleep by now?" Marinette teased as Tikki yawned. Catching the young lady look her way, the older woman just shrugged it off.

"I'm not tired," she stated, but in reality, she was trying her best to fight another yawn coming up. Besides, tomorrow she had to get up at 6:30 to run some errands for the boutique; not that she'll tell Marinette of course.

The designer rolled her eyes, "Yep. Not sleepy at all".

Not a second later, Plagg arrived with a bottle of vino tucked underneath his arm, with a glass in his left hand, and cheese in his right.

"What?" he demanded when he saw the girls staring at him, "Nobody has ever seen a man with earth's most heavenly cheese and cheap wine?"

Tikki smirked. "Only you would drink vino with camembert, Plagg".

"Whatever," the man grumbled. "Besides, wasn't tonight the day that our little Marinette graduated from design school?"

Tikki's face immediately lit up as she smiled a Cheshire grin at her goddaughter.

"That's right! I should remember of course, since that was the reason that I invited you here anyway," she mused.

Marinette nodded. Of course, she was excited that she was finally done with school but after the meeting with Nadja tonight, she wasn't sure if tonight should be one of her best or worst nights of her life.

"So…how was it?" Tikki finally questioned.

The ravenette shrugged. "It was okay, I guess."

The two adults said nothing, so with a sigh, the designer continued. "There was only this model that bugged me, but it was no big deal. And everyone told me they loved my designs, not to mention Nadja Chamack told me that she thought that my designs were impressive, but-"

"Wait!" Tikki interrupted. "Nadja Chamack? Like the head designer and owner of Chamack?"

Marinette nodded again, "Yeah, but-"

"Wasn't she that woman in the fashion business with purple hair that Marinette fawned over for years?" Plagg munched noisily on his snack.

The designer didn't even bother to speak this time since Tikki did it for her. "Yeah! And-"

Marinette grew impatient as the two adults started gushing about how she was when she was younger, admiring all the fashionistas and wanting to become just like them. Usually, she would get embarrassed over little stories like dressing her dolls up with toilet paper when she was seven, but right now, the designer was really stressed out.

She cleared her voice as the couple finally realized that she was in the room.

"Sorry, dear," Tikki blushed. "We're just super happy for you right now. What were you going to say?"

"Nothing. Only that I introduced myself and asked for a job, but she denied me since Papa owns Dupain clothing; not to mention shaming the family name in front of everyone, it's no big deal," she finally huffed. It took a while for the godparents to process everything before they both went over to hug her, although Marinette didn't really want the sympathy now; she was just glad that they were looking out for her at least.

"Don't listen to her! Why I know that my goddaughter could turn a stack of potatoes into a beautiful ball gown. You have the skills of your mother!" Tikki gushed to Plagg.

He grumbled. "I know. You do realize that Mari is _our_ goddaughter right? Sabine asked the both of us to look out for her."

Tikki blushed while Plagg looked over at Marinette, then back to the photos on the wall. His facial expression softened. "I swear that you're looking more like her every day," he said, with a fond tone in his voice.

Marinette looked pack at the pictures and polaroids hung up on the wall and smiled. Oh, how she missed her Mama so much. Even though she had pale grey eyes, Marinette swore that she had the brightest colored eyes of them all; even rivaling her own sky blue ones. She was especially fond of the Polaroid of her, Tikki, and Plagg.

Mama was getting married in the photo, and of course, Tikki and Plagg were chosen as the best man and maid of honor. Tikki straightened her usually wavy red hair that day. Her cerulean eyes, filled with joy and laughter, complimented her light-pink bridesmaids' dress. Plagg's usually messy jet-black hair was neat for once. His green eyes complimented his tie and matching black tux. Meanwhile, the bride itself was wearing a Chinese themed inspired wedding dress, probably designed herself. Marinette often heard stories of how great her mother's designs were, and she always made work at Dupain Clothing a great place.

She missed her so, _so_ much. As if sensing her thoughts, Plagg placed his hand over Marinette's.

"Me too, kid. Me too," he said as he looked at the same photo Marinette was staring at just moments earlier.

Tikki looked over at the two of them before saying, "I'm going to get out some of my chocolate chip cookies. Be right back." She left the two of them, as she went off into the kitchen to get her delicious, heavenly homemade sweets.

Tikki passed by an area with Sabine's photo, with different scented candles, in honor and memorial for her passing. The red-haired sighed as she thought back to Marinette. _Why oh why did Tom have to be so dense and stupid?_ She thought to herself as she thought back to her goddaughter's and dad's predicament.

She still remembered the weeks following her old friend's death. Before she passed, she asked Plagg and herself to take care of her daughter, and help Tom and Marinette get through this sad moment in their lives.

" _I don't want them to mourn over me. Please help them move on," she smiled at them from the hospital bed._

And with a request like that, how could Tikki refuse?

Of course, things turned out to be much more difficult than she and Plagg have thought after Tom seemed to drift away from them, busying himself with work.

" _But Marinette's your daughter! Don't forget that she's grieving too!" Plagg yelled at Tom._

He was quite angry that day, shaking his head, as he handed his sleeping daughter to them. By then, it has already been a month since Sabine has gone.

 _The man growled a little. "I asked for you two to take care of her since I have an overnight trip in China. Not for you two to lecture me on how I should take care of my daughter. I'll find time for her…I promised her," he looked down._

He left directly after that, giving the couple no time to respond. Even though Sabine's death has changed Tom a lot, he was still a soft teddy bear on the inside, no matter what.

And he did try. Over the years, even though he was busier with his company, he still tried making time for Marinette. Of course, things changed when he met-

 _Ring!_

The sound of Marinette's phone pierced through the air as Tikki quickly went to the kitchen to get her cookies.

"So, who was it?" Tikki asked when she finally reached the living area; making sure to pass her chocolate chip cookies around to a rather eager looking Plagg and Marinette. Plagg may love cheese and vino, but that didn't mean that he could resist her homemade desserts.

Marinette read through her message as she looked back at her godparents.

"It's just Papa. He said that he was sorry he couldn't make it to the showcase. And…" she trailed off.

"And?" the godparents asked in sync.

Marinette bit her lip. "And he asked me if I wanted to work at Dupain".

Tikki and Plagg looked at each other.

"You should at least think about the offer," Plagg suggested.

The young designer looked at them like they grown another head. "And work with my two stepsisters and eviler stepmother? No thanks, not after what they did last time."

Tikki frowned. "Okay, …but that was over two years ago. You should forget about them. This is _your_ family business after all. Your mom and dad started the business _together!_ "

"Besides," Plagg swirled his drink around in his glass, "You wanted to design. You could learn the trade." Even though Plagg wasn't that into fashion, he knew a thing or two about business. That was why he and Tikki made such a good team. She was the creative person who ran the shop, while he managed the finances and business working backstage.

Marinette pouted as she looked at them. "But it's been my dream to work at a couture fashion house! What if you were in my shoes?"

"Just get new ones!" Tikki happily remarked back.

"And if it doesn't work, you have nothing to lose. Worst case scenario, you could work for us at this boutique," Plagg grinned.

Marinette smiled, after taking a moment to think about everything. "Fine, I'll take it. Only because working here doesn't sound like the worst idea in the world."

She laughed as Plagg tackled her off the couch and onto the ground.

Once they calmed down, she picked up her phone to text her Papa back.

Papa: So do you want to work at Dupain?

Papa: Only if you want to, of course. Just in case the whole 'I want to work at a couture fashion house' thing doesn't work for you ;)

Marinette's thumb hovered over the _send_ button once she finished typing out her message. After a while, she finally tapped on the button.

Marinette: Fine then, I give in. I'll come work for the family business. See you tomorrow!

She was really surprised to see that he responded right away.

Papa: Great! Can't wait to see you, my ladybug!

Ladybug, huh? He hasn't called her that nickname in a while. At least, not since Mama was gone. But she couldn't think about that now. She had to wake up early tomorrow!

Tikki smiled as she looked at the young designer. "So, how did it go?"

Marinette's facial expression was all the confirmation that she needed. "I guess my first day of work officially starts tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

As promised, Marinette woke up early the next day; and that was saying a lot because she usually couldn't get out of bed until past 9. This was why she took all afternoon and night classes when she was in design school. If she took a morning class…well, she was just thankful that she never did. Thinking back to when she was a kid, Marinette wondered how she could ever get up at 8 AM, or 8:15 in time for school.

The young designer went downstairs from the guest room and into the kitchen. Tikki was already making breakfast since she was an early bird. Plagg was like the ravenette; if he wanted to, he wouldn't get up until past noon. And luckily for him, Tikki always made sure that he got plenty of rest, since they ran their own shop and all; lucky.

"Morning, Marinette," the red-head greeted her. She was stirring her usual cup of tea.

Marinette yawned as she gave a half awake smile to her aunt. Aunt, godmother, or whatever she called her, Tikki would always be Tikki. And being the great aunt she was, she took a batch of her famous chocolate chip cookies out of the oven.

"Excited?" she asked as she placed them on the counter to cool.

The blunette smiled. "Not as excited as eating these cookies. What's the special occasion?"

Tikki fanned her oven mitt over the treats. "Well, since you're up late for your meet up, I thought that you needed some breakfast for the road."

"Late?" Marinette eyes widened.

Tikki gestured towards the big grandfather clock attached to the wall. It was 9:17 in the morning. The designer let out a small gasp as she checked her phone. She set her alarm to her usual 9 o'clock instead of making a new one.

"I'm going to be late! Shoot, I thought I woke up at eight!" the young adult cried out. If anything, she was blaming this on Plagg sharing some vino with her last night.

Tikki watched in amusement as she saw the ravenette rush all over the place to grab everything she needed, including her design portfolio, her coat, and a white knitted hat. Meanwhile, the red-head took off her mitts and grabbed a cookie as she placed it on a pale pink napkin.

She followed Marinette outside, who was rushing through the door.

"Gees, you don't have to break it. This thing is old you know," Tikki joked while steadying the door as the young designer waved her arms around for a taxi. Unfortunately, calling upon taxis were never something that Marinette got the hang of, so she was stuck.

Tikki, on the other hand, was one of the best taxi callers the ravenette has ever seen. "You get use to it after you do it for so many years," she told her a few years ago, when the girl was finally allowed to travel on her own, without adult supervision.

She watched in amazement as Tikki inserted her pinkies on the edge of her lips and let out a high pitched whistle.

The aunt turned to her and smiled before looking Marinette up and down.

"You're getting a job in fashion, and this is what you're wearing?" she exclaimed as she gestured towards her outfit. Personally, Marinette thought that what she was wearing was perfectly normal since it was all the range these days. She had on her black coat, with a white sweater underneath paired with dark skinny jeans with light brown UGG boots and her hat. Sure, it didn't have a lot of color, but that style was usually saved for younger toddlers and kids.

Tikki let out a huff as she untied the hot pink scarf around her own neck and placed it onto Marinette's.

"Well, then at least let me add a little color. Have a personality once in a while," she adjusted the accessory as the cab pulled up in front of them.

Marinette got into the car after her godmother was done and rolled down the window.

"Just know that I support you, no matter what happens, ok?" Tikki stated. Marinette smiled as the taxi started to pull away.

"I know. Don't forget to tell Plagg where I'll be okay? I love you!" Then, the taxi fully sped up, leaving Tikki behind.

She grinned. "I love you too!" Marinette barely heard it, but hearing her voice was enough. Now the only challenged up the road was the meeting that was coming up.

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Marinette stepped out of the taxi as she examined the building right in front of her. It really has changed since she last came here; it has been too long.

She thanked the driver, after she paid her fee. The driver nodded and sped away as she began walking down the road.

The first thing she noticed was the smell. Wait, that was kinda rude. There were a group of people in black that were..uhm…Marinette nearly coughed at the smoky smell as it entered through her nostrils, so she held her breath. It was just a habit she kept from when she was a kid.

They stared at her for a bit as she walked along the pavement to the front doors, and that's when she noticed a man with sunshine blonde hair strolling past her. Marinette was walking fast since she was late, but that didn't mean that she was blind to the fact that he was quite fairly attractive. At first glance she knew that he had beautiful green eyes. He was wearing a black jacket with a dark green shirt with a few stripes on it, with jeans and- He glanced over at her.

Marinette nearly squeaked, but chose to keep eye contact for a second longer instead. He really did have the most amazing eyes she has ever seen. She blushed at the thought of this and whipped her head back forward.

"OW!" she yelped in pain as her nose collided with the glass door to the building.

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 **While I'll normally make my chapters a little longer, I'm going to post this for now. Maybe I'll add on to this in the future, or I'll create a whole new chapter itself. Thanks for reading.**

 **(And extra thanks for those who left a review. They made my night!)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Ouch," Marinette repeated as she pinched her nose. Did she seriously do that in front of all those people outside? _Man, I am a klutz,_ Marinette thought to herself until a warm hand rested on her shoulder.

She turned around to face…the blond haired guy.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Marinette's face turned bright red. Of course she wasn't fine! Not only because she just hit her nose in front of random civilians, but she just did it in front of a really attractive guy!

"I uh, i-it's f-fine!" the ravenette stammered.

She heard a few onlookers let out a few snickers.

The man in front of her looked at them and rolled his eyes, humor dancing in his emerald greens. "Don't mind them. It could've happened to any one of us."

Marinette smiled. Not only was this guy super hot, but he was kind and considerate too.

"It's okay. I'm used to it, being the klutz I am. Things like this happen all the time," she grinned. She winced again a second later; her nose still in pain from the collision of the glass door earlier.

The man patted Marinette lightly on the shoulder as a friendly gesture.

"I mean," she went on to explain herself more, "I guess I was just a little nervous since it's my first day and all."

He smiled in sympathy. "No wonder I never seen you before. I would have remembered a pretty face like yours."

Marinette blushed at the compliment. She definitely wasn't _that_ pretty, at least in her eyes.

"Don't sweat it, okay. Just remember-," he paused and gestured towards the door, "go slowly."

The blunette nodded and looked back into his eyes, getting lost in its green depths. _Just remember, you can do this,_ said a voice in her head that sounded a lot like Tikki's. Coming back to the real world, Marinette nodded at the blond stranger.

Before she could get sidetracked any more, she quickly turned around and swung open the door, with a little more force than needed, before storming inside. The ravenette heard a small _thud_ behind her but brushed it off as nothing since she was already late.

Meanwhile, outside the door, it was Adrien's turn to hold his nose.

"Ouch," he winced as he rubbed the sore spot on his nose. The raven hair stranger just doored him in the face; literally. She may have used just a tad too much force when opening it. But if being doored was the price to see her again, then so be it.

A few passerbyers started to laugh at the blond after witnessing the scene earlier, but Adrien just glared at them in return in a joking matter. Yep, this day was definitely going to be interesting.

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Meanwhile, Marinette was standing awkwardly in the reception area while the receptionist was currently busy taking in a bunch of calls.

"Dupain Clothing, please hold," said a man with a tiny dark brown afro at a weird slant, with thick black glasses framing his face. He was also wearing a green polo with suspenders. The man moved on to pick up a different phone, and the process continued on. "Dupain Clothing; I'll see if he's in…Dupain Clothing, I'll send you to the other phone operator…Hello…"

"Uhm, hi?" interrupted Marinette, who finally approached the front desk.

"Dupain Clothing…" the man continued in a louder voice. He heard the ravenette alright, but he just continued to ignore her for now. At least until he got some of these phone calls sorted out.

"Can you just-," she began again.

The man typed something into the computer before handling another phone call. "Yes? With whom?"

Seeing that it was no point to get the man's attention, the young designer just decided to keep quiet for now. After a few seconds, the man finally gestured to the girl.

"Hello? Girl who can't work a door? Over here," he mused while his fingers flew across the keyboard in front of him.

Marinette blinked for a few seconds before speaking.

"Oh, hi. Uhm, I was here to see Tom Dupain," she said.

"Yeah that's wonderful….except you can't," he said, with no solicitude in his voice what so ever.

Marinette blinked in confusion. "Well, why not?"

The man still didn't reply. The ravenette rolled her eyes as she tried not to let her frustration show.

"Look Mr…," she trailed off and looked at his name tag, "…Kanté. This is my first day and I really can't afford being late for another minute. From one desperate employee trying to keep their job to another…can you please help me out?" She was actually super desperate by now. This was by far the latest she's ever been, at least 20 minutes late, to her job interview no less!

The statement sounded more like a question, but in the end, it got the man's attention. He sighed as he finished handling the last phone call before looking back at her.

"I'm sorry. But Mr. Dupain is in Europe for a business trip. If you need to meet up with him, I can transfer you over to Caline. But that's the best I could do," he stated, but it was more in sympathy. No one in the company really liked messing with Caline after all, or crossing paths with her for that matter.

He grimaced when he saw the look on the girl's face. His own facial features softened before speaking up.

"I could offer you another meeting with him if you want. I'm sure I could reason with the queen of mean herself… I know it's never good for a new employee to get the first welcome here, especially coming from her," he smiled.

Usually, he never offered anything like this to anyone, but she sounded so desperate, and he himself wasn't a cold man at heart. Granted, Dupain used to be a great place to work at, at least that was what he heard from his other, older co-workers. But then everything changed since the incident, not that he knew anything about it, but no one ever told him. All he knew was that afterward, Caline and her two daughters came and basically took over the company and nothing has ever been the same since. He himself only took this job because he was desperate for a job, and it paid the bills, not that he would tell anyone.

But the ravenette shook her head politely refusing the offer.

"I said that I'll take this job today, and that's what I plan to do, even if I have to face the wicked witch of the west herself. But thanks for the offer Mr. Kante," she smiled sincerely.

"Call me Max," he offered and held his hand up across the desk.

The blue-haired girl took it before introducing herself as well, "Marinette."

After the handshake, she began walking away with a smile on her face. Maybe the meeting wouldn't be that bad after all.

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Marinette was slowly approaching Caline's office when she first heard her cold voice.

"I don't care!" the sharp voice cut across the halls like a sharp pair of scissors slicing through fine fabric. Her voice alone caused several employees walking by to pick up the pace to their destinations. It seemed like everyone working here dreaded her voice alone.

The blunette gulped nervously dreading their meeting more. Would things still be the same as before she left? Or did Caline and her little minions actually change the attitudes? It wasn't that they did anything really bad to her, but ever since they made their way into the family. It just seemed like they weren't really fond of her and her dad having quality time together. And Marinette mostly blamed them for stealing him away from her when she was younger. She still remembered that night a few years ago…

 _Marinette was playing with her dolls again, but this time it wasn't from the comforts of her room._

 _The little girl sighed when she realized she forgot to pack her stuffed animal._

" _I'm sorry Sergeant McFlufferkins," the blunette apologized to her stuffed alpaca. He was on his way to a very important tea party with her teddy bear, who she dressed in a tiny pink tutu when she realized that she forgot someone else too. "I'll bring Mr. Berri tomorrow. I forgot him at home"._

 _She reached into her backpack and pulled out a mini top hat that she placed onto her alpaca. She sighed when she realized that she needed her tea set, which she also left at home. She looked back at the scene in front of her. Several toys lay in a circle on top of the quilted bed. They all had on fancy outfits that Marinette was proud to say that she made them herself._

" _Daddy sure has been having a bunch of nights out," she said facing Sergeant McFlufferkins. And that was the reason why she was at always staying at Miraculous with Tikki and Plagg recently, not that she minded spending time with her godparents, but she still missed him a bunch, especially since her mom passed away only a few weeks ago._

 _Tikki took that moment to open the door to her guest bedroom, "Everything okay in here?"_

 _Marinette smiled as Tikki entered the bedroom and sat down on the bed._

" _Yeah!" the little smiled enthusiastically. "But I forgot Mr. Berri at home. Can I borrow your tea sets again?" she asked with a shy grin._

 _Tikki hugged the little 8 year old. "Of course you can. I'll ask Tom if he's coming tomorrow to pick you up. Then I'll be right back with the tea set, okay?"_

 _The little girl smiled as she walked away._

 _Little did she know how troubled her godparent was outside._

 _After Tikki walked away she started frowning. This was the second time that Tom neglected his daughter...again!_

 _Plagg snuck up behind her and glanced towards the direction of the bedroom Marinette was staying in._

" _Let me guess," he grumbled, "To busy again?"_

 _Tikki winced at his tone of voice. "We know it isn't like that Plagg. It's just that ever since Sabine passed-"_

" _That doesn't excuse his behavior towards his own daughter! Doesn't he know that Marinette is grieving too? He doesn't deserve to be drinking his life away while we have to pick up the broken pieces"_

 _The two adults sat in silence for a few moments. Tikki was the first one to break it._

" _I better check on her now." Plagg said nothing as he watched his wife disappear to fetch the things that the young girl requested._

 _Plagg sighed as he watched his wife disappear from view. He really did love Marinette here, but she really didn't deserve a broken family._

 _A few minutes later Tikki returned with the tea set, but she had two other things in her hands as well._

" _What's that?" the little girl asked as she pointed to the two dolls her aunt was holding. One was a cute peacock. The other was a little orange fox._

" _This," Tikki held out the peacock, "is Duusu. She's a very emotional girl, but she's always playful and she's the most fun peacock that you'll ever meet."_

 _Marinette giggled as she gave Duusu a hug._

" _And here," the red-head held up the fox, "is Trixx. He could cast any illusion that you want, but he'll be one of your most loyal companions for the rest of your days."_

 _Marinette gave little Trixx a kiss on the cheek. She looked back up at Tikki. "Do you think that they'll want to join in the tea party too?"_

 _The red-head nodded as she mimicked Duusu's voice. "Of course we'll love to join you Princess Marinette."_

 _And with that, the two ended up playing with Duusu and Trixx for the rest of the night._

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"Let me get this straight," said Caline's cold voice that snapped Marinette out of her daydream. "The price that I pay, is the price that I was quoted".

The blunette grew more anxious the closer she stepped towards her office.

"I don't care about the shortage. I didn't cause the typhoon…Just get me the shipment at that price. You got it-?" Caline turned around and saw Marinette outside of her glass door.

The ravenette thought she saw a scowl on her face, but that was quickly replaced with a sweet smile like the lady just won the lottery...the worst kind of lottery. "Okay. Thank you so much…" she said in a softer tone. "Yeah…I'll talk to you tomorrow…bye-bye," she hung up the phone.

Marinette took this as her cue to enter the workspace.

"Mari!" she grinned, almost too happy. In return, the blunette gave her the same smile, although both of them knew that the other smile was fake and superficial.

"Is that you?" she smiled. "It's been so long." She eyed her outfit and gave her another smile that resembled more of a smirk.

"That's a cute hat by the way. Such a brave choice," Caline said sarcastically, although no one but Marinette could tell.

"Nice to see you Bustier," the raven-haired girl stretched out her name.

But the orange-haired lady laughed it off as a joke, "Oh Mari! I haven't heard that in a while. These days most people just use "Dupain" for me…except you." She gave her stepdaughter the evil eye.

She immediately stepped out of it and got back into her act of being the fake and friendly person that everyone saw her as. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Marinette began as Caline looked at her questioningly, "I came to see my dad actually".

Caline gave out another fake laugh while people passing by in the hallway glanced at Marinette through the glass barrier. All of them gave her an expression of pity before returning to the way they were.

"Your dad is in London for the week," she stated while picking up a nearby folder and examining the contents inside. "But you know I'll always be there for you when you need something".

 _Yeah right,_ the ravenette wanted to respond but kept it in her head.

Instead, she gave a polite nod. "That's nice to know." Caline didn't say anything as she flipped through the papers in the file.

Feeling a bit more confident, Marinette stated, "Well actually I'd like to take his offer on a job here." That certainly caught her attention. The orange-hair lady snapped the folder shut and gave out a tense grin. "Oh. That's nice to know".

The two sat in awkward silence before Caline asked, "I just thought that you wanted to work at a couture fashion house since you made it clear you wanted to get away from Dupain two years ago".

"I know," Marinette said handing Caline her portfolio. "But-t i-it's a great experience, and I could learn the trade." She thought back to what Plagg said. Caline flipped through the pages of the portfolio as her smile scrunched up even more. "Besides, it's the family business."

"The business has changed so much," Caline stated snapping the portfolio shut, "And so has the family," she paused for a second before looking back at the ravenette, "It's great to have you back, Marinette. These days everyone wants to design. Good thing you're part of the family."

Her eyes widened before she realized what Caline meant. "I don't really want any special treatment."

"Really? You would want to work your way up just like everyone else?" the orange-haired lady asked.

Marinette nodded. She wanted to prove to everyone that she had the talent and skills to make it to the top by earning the position, not because somebody gave it to her.

Caline got lost in thought for a while before saying anything. "Hmm…how about I put you to work under Lila and Sabrina, just to keep it all in the family."

The blunette blinked for a second taking in what she said. "Your daughters are designing?" That was definitely new since the last time she saw them.

Caline smirked a little. "You'll see them at the meeting."

"What meeting?"

And with that, Caline led the confused ravenette out the door.

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 **Sorry for not posting in a while. I really don't have a good excuse on why I didn't do it, but I really wanted to get this chapter out. On another note, NETFLIX TOOK DOWN THE MOVIE! Really bitter about that, since I was using the film as a reference to write this fanfic. But the show must go on! (And I love this story too much to take it down, not that I was planning to anyway.)**

 **To clear things up, Caline Bustier is the stepmother in this story. As much as I love how nice and bubbly she usually is, I thought she would be perfect in this role. And I used Lila and Sabrina for her daughters because they seemed to fit the stepsister roles. (Plus, all three of them have orangey, brownish hair. You all get what I'm trying to say!)**

 **Thanks again for being so patient with me. And thanks for all the reviews! As I said, they make my day!**

 **-BelBel**


	5. Chapter 5

"Everyone, meet Marinette!" Caline introduced her to the others as Marinette entered a large business room.

The journey from Caline's office was filled with awkward silence, but the ravenette didn't really mind. She preferred it that way instead of her stepmother trying to fake being nice towards her. This also allowed her to gather her thoughts and look at her surroundings.

The halls were a dark monotone blue, and although there were multiple lights, the place always seemed somewhat dull. Or maybe that was because of the atmosphere.

Marinette peaked into several work spaces on the way to the meeting. Most of the time all the workers would have a bored look on their face as they were cutting out a new pattern or chatting quietly with a co-worker.

The raven haired girl still remembered how bright and happy this place was before. Each hallway was painted a different color, courtesy of younger Marinette's choice, and people used to smile frequently. Not to mention the company didn't do in house production anymore. Nowadays, every clothing piece was made in China or some other foreign country.

After Caline and her stepdaughters entered the business, the walls in the halls were painted a boring shade of navy blue, people weren't as happy, and the clothing just wasn't the same.

Don't get her wrong, they still produced quality work; it's just that most of the clothes didn't have the _wow_ factor, or something that made it stand from the crowd.

Upon entering the meeting the first thing she noticed was the blond hair guy that she met earlier. And maybe it was just her imagination, but she swore that she saw his face lighten up when she entered the room… Nah, it was probably the first option.

Caline cleared her voice as she glanced over at the ravenette.

"You can take a seat at the far end of the room," she pointed to a chair, which so happened to be right next to the model worthy stranger. Marinette did as she was told as Caline began speaking more.

"Marinette is fresh out of design school and is here for experience." She then proceeded to go over some nonsense about not being provided with any water, but Marinette was just focused on keeping the attention away from herself. She got to her chair, but noticed a rack blocking the way.

 _I'll just push the rack back a bit so I'll have the space to get into my seat,_ she thought.

Unfortunately, being the klutz she knew she was, Marinette ended up pushing the rack of balance, which made all the clothes and metal beams fall on her. And that led to the ravenette falling on the floor with a loud yelp and a crash, drawing everyone's attention to her, which was exactly the thing she was trying to avoid.

Luckily, being the kind soul that the blond stranger was, he immediately started helping Marinette up and picking the fallen things of the floor.

"Are you ok?" he quietly asked as he continued assisting her.

All that the blunette could do was let out a small squeaky, "yeah" in reply. First time meeting all the important people at the company and she already made a bad first impression. Hopefully Caline and her daughters won't criticize and embarrass her, not like it hasn't happened before.

Hoping to lighten the mood, the blond stranger let out a tiny chuckle, "Don't worry. I'm sure nobody noticed".

Marinette knew that wasn't true, but it's nice to know that some people were looking out for her here.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she faced the people seated along the long meeting desk. Marinette saw Lila and Sabrina silently judging her with their eyes.

"Don't worry. Nobody here thinks your awkward or anything," Lila sneered sarcastically.

"Yeah," Sabrina added on, "It's not like everyone here is embarrassed for you or anything."

Lila glared at her sister as she whispered something about how side remarks were her thing, even though everyone in the room could hear them.

Caline rolled her eyes at her daughters' behavior. She would have to talk to them about that later after the meeting was over. She turned to one of the designers to get things started, having enough with the side chitchat. "Bridgette, where is our model?"

Marinette looked at the girl next to the head of the table. She had a good sense of fashion judging from her outfit choice. Her long raven colored hair, similar to her own, was tied up in twin ponytails. She wore a light blue flared dress with a white collar around the neckline. The girl Caline called 'Bridgette' didn't even try to hide her annoyance.

"The twins fired them on Wednesday," she replied, slightly glaring at Lila and Sabrina.

"We're not twins!" they both huffed as they glared back. Although it was true and they both didn't really look like one another, Marinette knew most people assumed they were just because of how similarly they act, and how often they said the exact words at the same time.

"Well, I don't really care about that. I just need to know who's going to try on the new dress for us," Caline stated.

That's when Marinette could help but notice the sly smirk that appeared on Lila's face.

"How about Marinette," she suggested.

"M-m-me!?" she shuttered in response.

Sabrina hummed in response. "That's a great idea!"

"We all really need to support her right now," Lila chimed in.

"She just had that embarrassing moment a few minutes ago".

"Totally lame".

"Yeah, totally".

Again, Lila sent a death glare in Sabrina's direction. The girl just shrank in her seat in response.

Caline nodded, not caring who tried the sample on at that point. "Excellent idea, come on Mari!"

With a reluctant sigh, the ravenette got out of her seat and walked over to the front of the room where Bridgette was patiently holding out the hanger with the dress. Marinette thanked her quietly and started walking towards the door in search of a bathroom.

"Excuse me," Lila stopped her. She pointed to a nearby panel dressing screen behind her, "There's a screen right there."

Marinette froze at the sight. "W-wouldn't a bathroom be-"

"Just get going, we don't have all day," Sabrina interrupted.

The ravenette just huffed and followed her instructions, making sure to check if anyone was peeking or not. Worse case senerio, Lila or Sabrina (maybe both) would knock over the screen purposely and expose her to her new co-workers.

Thankfully, nothing like that happened. In fact, the dress fit quite snuggly on her petite figure. As she adjusted the dress and smoothed out the wrinkles, she couldn't help but overhear the conversation on the other side of the screen.

"It can't be that hard changing behind a screen," she heard Lila remark. Sabrina agreed with her sister, just like she always did. Nothing really interesting came up in their conversation after that, just a bunch of bad gossip about herself, and she wasn't surprised.

She tuned them out and focused on the conversation between Bridgette and Caline.

"-got different varieties of fabrics," Bridgette explained. Marinette listened to Caline complain about the samples when a small _rip_ was heard.

The ravenette looked down at the dress and noticed that the seams on the shoulders ripped off. She panicked nervously in the tight space she had until she came up with the solution of letting her pigtails loose. She moved a few strands of hair here and there until her black locks covered the tiny hole. She smiled in satisfactory and slowly came out from behind the screen. All chatter came to a stop as people began to examine the dress.

The dress itself was a fitted black dress, but the design was rather drab.

"I like it better already," Bridgette mused when she saw the dress on the model.

"Of course it does. Her hair is out of those childish pigtails," Lila smirked.

Sabrina laughed it off as they both criticized her hairstyle. The ravenette thought that she saw Bridgette scowl at them until it turned back to her original bored expression.

"Ok, as instructed by the people in power, I had to strip down the design," Bridgette explained to everyone.

Caline looked over the dress, unimpressed, "It looks boring."

"That's what happens when you take away all the fun."

"We're not going for fun," Caline exclaimed, making Bridgette scoff in return, "our customers are busy worker bees who shop during their lunch hour."

She turned to her daughters and ignored any added thing that Bridgette might've said. In turn, the designer rolled her eyes and hung the dress on the dressing screen, walking to her original seat among her co-workers, Marinette following her example.

"Girls, I want you to come up with something better, so head back to the inspiration board," Caline turned back and faced the people at the meeting, "and for the rest of you guys, we're done here, bye-bye."

Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to the tiny meeting that Caline had with her daughters in the corner of the room.

"I'm putting the two of you guys in charge of supervise Marinette" Caline told them.

Lila blinked in surprise. "I thought she was too good for retail."

"She is. I have a feeling she's not going to like it here," Caline smirked evilly as she exited the room.

Sabrina's gaze followed her mother, a little puzzled at what she meant. "But why, Lila? This is such a great work place, and there's free coffee and donuts in the lounge room and-"

"Ugh! You don't get it, do you? Why am I always the one who has to babysit you?" Lila demanded.

"For your information, my GPA is higher than yours," Sabrina stated, a little hurt at what she said.

The Italian rolled her eyes. "The point is, mom wants Marinette to quit."

She waited for her sister to process what she said, "Oh! That makes a lot more sense."

Meanwhile Marinette was slowly packing her things. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to face the blond stranger. She squeaked in surprise but managed to recover slightly.

"I'm Adrien, by the way, from Agreste Shoes," he introduced.

She shook his hand, "Marinette." She looked him straight in the eyes and was surprised to find that they had a bit of humor, even after that awful meeting.

"It's nice meeting you Marinette," he said as he turned her hand in his and kissed the back it, "It's usually a lot more tense in these meetings". This caused her to blush intensely. That was such a gentleman move.

"So…no one's mad at me?"

He smiled at her and let out a small laugh, a sound that made her stomach tingle slightly, "Of course not. You're too cute to stay mad at for long."

He turned around, walking away, only to pause mid-step to look back at her. "By the way, I think that the pigtails are adorable." Once he was gone, Marinette was speechless and ladybug red.

"Forget about him sweetheart," a voice said behind her. Marinette glanced back and saw Bridgette adjusting the clothes on the rack. She looked deep in thought, but mostly held a sympathetic expression.

"He's been single for so long, I think he forgot all about it by now," she frowned slightly.

Just as Marinette was about to reply, asking what she meant, a loud voice pierced through the air.

"Marinette!"

The ravenette turned around only to be grabbed by Sabrina, and followed her stepsisters out the door to whoever knows where.

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 **Bridgette's character was a little more serious than I intended for her to be. But that's only because Caline, Lila, and Sabrina were pushing on her buttons. Other than that, her character is going to be more uplifting and bubbly in upcoming chapters.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews so far!**

 **-BelBel**


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